


Lonely and Afraid

by WilSon1D



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Comforting, Cutesy, Fear, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Scary Movies, Secret Relationship, Young Love, bandmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-02
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2018-01-06 17:17:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1109473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WilSon1D/pseuds/WilSon1D
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one would’ve expected Louis to be afraid of scary movies. When the boys go out to see ‘The Conjuring’ in the theatre, Niall has to comfort the eldest man during the movie. Maybe this comforting could lead to something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely and Afraid

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a NOUIS oneshot that I hope you enjoy! Shoot me a comment to let me know what you think. :)

Lonely & Afraid

 

The boys had been hanging out for a while before deciding to go to a movie. They piled into the van, Paul driving them to the nearest theatre that they paid to close early; just so the boys could watch a movie in peace. Once they reached the theatre, Zayn, Liam, and Harry were picking the movie. Louis was joking around with Niall, not paying attention to which movie the lads were picking. Louis made sure to whine at Harry, getting the man to buy him some twizzlers and an Icee. Louis kissed Harry’s cheek, taking the candy and Icee into the theatre to pick seats. The other boys were following behind him. Louis made sure to pick seats somewhat closer to the screen, wanting a good view of the action that was about to ensue.

 

Louis, Niall, Liam, Harry, and Zayn sat down (in that order), chewing and slurping on their snacks just as the previews started. The lights grew dim before completely turning off, plunging the boys into utter blackness. Louis took a deep breath, not being a huge fan of the dark, but the sounds of the boys next to him helped bring his heart rate back to normal. Having the boys, his best friends with him, made the dark not seem so black.

 

It was the first preview that gave Louis the intuition that the movie they were seeing would not be one of his favorites. It was for some scary movie that made him close his eyes immediately. His fingers, clutching the twizzlers in both hands, itched to cover his ears; to try masking the screams that echoed through the theatre.

 

Turning to Niall, he asked him what movie they were seeing.

 

“The Conjuring. Harry wanted to see it” Niall whispered back to Louis. He tried to keep his heart from hammering in his chest; tried to keep the whimper inside of him that threatened to come out. He tried focusing on the twizzlers in his hands as the movie started. This was going to be the longest movie of his life.

 

It was 30 minutes into the movie when he couldn’t hold it in any longer. A scream tore from his voice box when the next thing popped out at them, seemingly out of nowhere. He heard a couple of the boys chuckling, and closed his eyes out of embarrassment. He heard Niall hush them, telling them not to be so mean.

 

“You okay?” Niall asked. Louis just nodded once, not wanting any of the boys, especially the blonde to see how much of a wimp he truly was.

 

A few more minutes of covering his eyes, he felt a soft hand trying to pry his fingers from his face.

 

“No…” Louis whispered, hoping the girl from the movie wasn’t coming for him now, in real life. He faintly heard a clicking sound before he was pulled from the middle of his seat toward the seat next to him. His hands fell from his face, landing in his lap as he looked at Niall. Niall had lifted the armrest between their seats to pull Louis closer to him. Niall’s arm was around his shoulders, fingers rubbing soothing circles into his arm. Louis smiled internally, yet couldn’t keep the frown from his face. This movie was awful. Louis was sure he’d have nightmares, that is if he were able to fall asleep at all.

 

At the next scary part, Louis’ head turned to bury in Niall’s shoulder. He was shaking against Niall’s body.

 

“You wanna get out of here?” Niall whispered into Louis’ ear. Louis nodded into Niall’s shoulder somewhat enthusiastically. Niall chuckled lowly in his ear. Louis hears Niall tell Liam they were going to hit the loo and to get more food. Liam just told them to hurry back; it was getting to the climax.

 

“Niall…” Louis said once they were outside the theatre the movie was playing in. Niall turned to look at Louis’ scared face.

 

“Didn’t realize you were scared of horror films, Lou. Never woulda guessed.”

 

“Sorry. You know if you wanted to see the movie…we can go back in.”

 

“Don’t be silly. Let’s grab sumthin’ to eat.” Niall smiled at him and Louis’ heart skipped a beat. You see, Louis had felt butterflies in his stomach for the past few months, every time Niall smiled, laughed, made a joke, or even just looked his way. But he was unsure of what it all really meant.

 

Niall was at the counter already, buying an enormous amount of food. They carried it to the lobby of the theatre, sitting down on the cozy couch before eating. Louis only had a few sour patch kids and a bite of the so-called pizza they served at the theatre before he needed to stop eating. His stomach was queasy. Not that the movie had been gory or anything, but he was fearful of the movie characters coming to life and finding him. Niall, still chomping away at the pile of food, noticed that Louis wasn’t eating. They had been sitting in silence, so when Niall started talking, Louis jumped, scattering the sour patch kids around them in a flurry.

 

“Ya aren’t very hungry?” Niall had asked. He changed directions when Louis jumped. “Geez, Lou. You’re really that terrified of these movies?” Louis just looked over at him, wide-eyed. He was embarrassed beyond belief, especially since the boy that was with him, and missing the movie for him, was the one he couldn’t stop thinking about. This wasn’t something he had ever wanted his…um, Niall, to find out about him. This, his fear of horror films, was one of those things that Louis had kept secret, especially from his fellow band members. He knew, or thought the boys would make fun of him about it. So far, Niall hadn’t made fun of him, at least not out loud.

 

“It’s embarrassing, Niall.” Louis said quietly.

 

“What’s ta be embarrassed about? I mean, Liam’s afraid of spoons! Scary movies…not so embarrassing.” Niall responded. Louis smiled shyly at Niall, who had finished eating and had thrown an arm around the back of the couch they were on. Just as Louis’ heart started racing from Niall’s closeness, the rest of the boys came over to stand in front of them.

  
“You guys missed the ending! It was thrilling, can you believe…” Harry was going on about the movie, but Louis covered his ears, not wanting to hear about the movie anymore. Niall chuckled, bringing his hand down to rest on Louis’ shoulder, hoping to comfort the older boy.

 

“Harry, stop talkin’ wouldja? Louis’ not a fan of these kinds of movie after all” Niall said, making Louis’ cheeks tinge a faint pink in embarrassment; well, the boys all finally know his secret. Let the laughing begin…but it never came.

 

“Boo bear, why didn’t you say anything? We could’ve seen something else.” Harry said, coming forward to kneel in front of him.

 

“I didn’t even know what we were seeing until it started…I knew you wanted to see it, Haz…I didn’t want to disappoint you.” He said quietly. Harry leaned forward, pulling him into a quick hug.

 

“You’d never disappoint me. Or any of us for that matter” Harry said. The other boys all nodded, responding in affirmation to Harry’s statement.

 

“Thanks.” Louis said shyly. The boys got up, ready to head home. Not really home, but the tour bus they would be taking to the next venue. It felt like home to them; a second home, with their second family. The ride back to the tour bus felt like an eternity to Louis. Every little shadow he saw outside made him even more scared than he already was. Of course having the boys all with him made him feel better, but not 100% okay. With Niall sitting to his right, Louis was not only terrified of the shadow, but also terrified that his stomach was going to drop out of his body. He tried to keep his breathing normal, but when he felt a warm hand on his arm, he knew he had been doing a piss-poor job. Louis looked over at Niall who was smiling softly at him before he turned back to look out the window. Louis kept staring at Niall’s face. His eyes traced over Niall’s blonde hair. Moving down, he saw his wide forehead, pale and perfect. Next, he saw his bushy eyebrows, his sparkling, clear blue eyes. Then his pale, somewhat chubby cheeks that Louis had always found endearing. Louis’ eyes last landed on Niall’s pink lips. The longer he looked, the stronger his urge to feel those lips beneath his own became. His eyes couldn’t seem to drift away from Niall’s perfect lips. Lips that he had loved watching move during concerts and rehearsals, especially over the last few weeks. His gaze didn’t shift, not even when Niall’s equally pink tongue came out to lick at his lips, wetting them. Louis let out a gasp, Niall’s motion making Louis’ skin tingle. Niall’s head suddenly turned to gaze at Louis again, most likely because of the sound Louis had made. Louis turned his head just as quickly, facing the window, eyes looking out at the darkening shadows. He felt his cheeks heat up, hoping that Niall hadn’t noticed his staring. This was one secret he swore to himself would never get out.

 

 

Little did Louis know, Niall had seen Louis turn away from him. He had noticed the faint blush that dusted Louis’ cheeks in slight embarrassment. He had also felt Louis’ heated gaze the entire time he was turned away from the boy to his left. Niall was flattered to say the least. However, his heart was racing inside his chest as he felt Louis’ gaze. The secret that he kept would never get out, even though he desperately wanted to share it with someone. He wanted to share it with Louis, the boy that was stealing his affection. He just didn’t want to lose him.

 

They were all on the bus, in their separate sleeping spaces, when Niall heard him. Louis was crying softly in his bunk, and that broke Niall’s heart. He could tell the rest of the boys were sleeping, soft snores emanating from the other bunks. If any of the boys were up, Niall knew that someone would’ve been with Louis right now. So, Niall got up and shuffled over to Louis’ bunk. Pulling the curtain back, Louis screamed, making Niall regret his forward approach.

 

Louis had been awake for hours; every sound he heard made him terrified and the dark of night didn’t help. He had started crying a few minutes ago, seriously afraid of falling asleep. He knew he would have nightmares; as if his real-life nightmares weren’t enough. He couldn’t get his mind to turn off. Every thought had something to do with the horror film they had gone to see earlier. He knew he should’ve left the theatre when Niall told him what movie they would be watching, but his desire to stay on a pedestal in Niall’s eye had him second-guessing his idea.

 

So that’s why he was now crying in his bunk…alone and scared to fall asleep. Then he heard something; someone coming toward his bunk and he held his breath in anticipation. A scream ripped from his throat as the curtain to his bunk was pulled back. He knew the girl from the movie was there to kill him. But then a soft hand rubbed at his arm and he opened his eyes, not realizing when he had closed them in the first place. Niall. His Niall was standing in front of him, a soothing hand on his arm, yet the crying continued. He wanted to stop; needed to stop. He needed to not look like such a wuss in front of the guy he was attracted to, but that had already gone in the shitter. Louis felt the bed shift lightly as Niall climbed up with him, pulling him close to his body. Louis tried to quiet his cries, but was having trouble.

 

“Shh. Lou, it’s alright. Is this ‘cuz of the movie, or somethin’ else?” Niall tried asking. Louis couldn’t stop crying long enough to answer. Niall just held the man closer. Louis, feeling the warmth of Niall’s body against his own, started to calm down after many minutes.

 

Niall had been running his hand down Louis’ back, trying to soothe the man with soft touches and quiet coos of comfort. Niall smiled slightly, feeling Louis’ body relax and his cries quiet to only quiet whimpers every few minutes.

 

“You good now?” Niall asked.

 

“Thanks, Ni. Yeah, I’m…better.” Louis whispered.

 

“Good. I was worried. I’ve never heard you cry before” Niall said.

 

“I…tried to stay quiet. I didn’t want you, of all people, to hear me.”

 

“What? Why, Lou?”

 

“I didn’t want you to make fun of me…” Louis whispered.

 

“Why wouldja ever think I’d make fun of ya? I cry. Hell, I cry more than anyone.” Niall laughed.

 

“Not over a stupid film. Not because you’re afraid to fall asleep…Not because you…” Louis closed his eyes and took a breath. He was so close to saying something about his secret. That was not what Niall needed to hear right now.

 

“Who cares? You’re scared of a film; people are scared of different things. Nothin’ to be ashamed of.” Niall replied. His fingers still rubbing soft circles into Louis’ shirt-covered back. Louis unconsciously moved closer to Niall, snuggling closer to the warmth that he hoped would consume him.

 

“Ni…” Louis tried asking, but couldn’t get the words out.

 

“What, Lou? You want me to leave so you can get some sleep?” Niall asked.

 

“No, don’t go. Please?” Louis’ hands tightened around Niall’s body, unsure of when he actually wrapped his arms around the boy. Niall chuckled slightly, but felt elated that Louis needed him.

 

“Let’s lay down then, yeah?” Niall suggested. Louis nodded, knowing that if they didn’t get any sleep, they’d both be exhausted tomorrow. Inside, Louis was going out of his mind. He was with Niall, in his bed. Holy hell. They both lay down, heads both on Lou’s pillow. They pulled the blankets up around them, and Louis shifted down so he was nearly hidden by the blankets.

 

“Oh you. Come ‘ere.” Niall said. Louis didn’t move, but was pulled closer to Niall, warm, strong arms wrapping around him. Louis’ head was next to Niall’s chest; a steady and strong heartbeat could be felt and heard beneath his ear. Louis sighed, finally just where he wanted to be; wrapped in Niall’s arms. He knew his heart was beating out of his chest, hoping Niall couldn’t feel it. But Niall could…and he hoped it was because of how close they were, but figured it was because of the movie still. Niall knew that he was being affected by Louis’ closeness, not in the way he should’ve been. He pushed the dirty thoughts to the back of his mind. Trying not to get too “excited,” which would definitely set Louis off, would tell him something was wrong.

 

It was many minutes of silence, then Niall heard Louis’ breathing even out. Only then would Niall allow his eyes to flutter. Before he fell asleep fully, Niall whispered 4 words into the quiet air, thinking that no one would hear him.

 

“I love you, Louis.”

 

Little did Niall know, just after the words were whispered, Louis’ eyes fluttered open to look at the boy next to him, not having been fully asleep yet, still on the edge of being awake.

 

Did Niall just say what Louis thought he said?

 

“I love you too, Ni.” Louis whispered before falling asleep, more relaxed than he had been in a long time.

 

 

Louis woke up when he heard a soft thump against the wall next to his bunk.

 

“Time to wake up Louis! Everyone, it’s time to wake up!” Liam yelled. Louis was startled at first, not remembering he wasn’t alone, yet when he looked up to Niall’s calm, sleeping face, he relaxed. Without thinking, he reached up to softly touch Niall’s cheek, rubbing the baby-soft skin with the pad of his thumb. Then he moved his thumb across Niall’s bottom lip, wondering what it’d be like to take that bottom lip between his teeth; what it’d be like to run his tongue across the bitten flesh afterward. He pulled his fingers away quickly when Niall groaned next to him.

 

“Lou? What time is it?” Niall’s sexy morning voice rang through his ears.

 

“Don’t know. Liam called; time to get up though I guess.” After Louis stopped talking, Niall’s eyes fluttered open, blinking tiredly at him. Louis suddenly felt bad for keeping him up last night; Niall looked like he’d only gotten about 2 hours of sleep. Niall went to sit up, but Louis held him down.

 

“Thank you. For last night, Ni.” Louis said; Niall just smiled at him.

 

“I’d do anything for you, Lou.” Niall replied. Louis bit his bottom lip, feeling overjoyed at Niall’s words. “Don’t do that,” Niall said as he pulled Lou’s bottom lip free from between his teeth. Lou’s breath hitched at the touch, butterflies erupting in his stomach.

 

“Wh-why?” Louis breathed out, air blowing against Niall’s fingers, cascading over his face. Louis wondered to himself when their faces became only a few inches apart. He didn’t’ recall being so close just a second ago.

 

“That should be my job…” Niall whispered. Louis gasped, mouth slightly open when Niall’s lips came in contact with his own. Niall’s hand slid to the back of Louis’ neck, pressing their lips together more firmly. Pulling back, Louis stayed close, heavily breathing against Niall.

 

“Ni…” Louis started.

 

“You didn’t mean it like that, didja?” Niall asked, slightly breathless, worried that he just ruined the friendship with his best friend.

  
“What’re you talking about, Ni?”

 

“Last night…you said you loved me. But you just meant…” Niall was cut off by Louis’ lips descending on his own again. Louis pressed his body more firmly into Niall’s, bodies molding together like they were made for each other. Louis pulled away again before things could progress.

 

“Ni…I meant it; of course I meant it like that…More than a friend, that is. I thought you were sleeping last night. I wasn’t ever planning on telling you, but then…” Louis said, getting cut off by Niall.

 

“I said I loved you…which I do. I love you, Lou. As so much more than just a friend.” Niall said. Louis leaned in, kissing Niall’s cheek softly, moving to sit up.

 

“What’re you doing?” Niall asked.

 

“Liam’ll come back if he doesn’t see us soon” Louis said. Niall groaned. Louis jumped down from his bunk, going to walk away and to the loo when he was spun around. Soft lips were pressed against his own. He moaned quietly against Niall’s lips, rising on his tiptoes to reach Niall better, who was sitting up in Louis’ bunk.

 

“Kay, you can go. Don’t wanna get caught…” Niall said.

 

“We don’t? Louis said nervously. Louis would be okay shouting his love from the rooftop, but obviously Niall didn’t have the same urge.

 

“Just not yet…we just started, whatever we are. Just want ya to meself for a while, ya’know?” Niall kissed Lou again, Louis smiling when he pulled away.

 

“Okay. I agree. Want you to myself…” Louis whispered, biting his lip and blushing. He definitely wanted the Irishman to himself…like last night only with a different agenda of…activities.

 

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout, Lou?” Niall asked, head tilting to one side. Louis loved that, it was unbearably cute.

 

“Um, nothin’. Nothing.” Louis said, blushing harder than before. Niall jumped down beside Louis, a smirk crawling onto his face. Niall pressed his front to Louis’ side, mouth moving toward Louis’ ear.

 

“Thinkin’ ‘bout me, Louis? Cuz I know I’m thinkin’ ‘bout you…” Niall said, pressing his newly sprung bulge in his trousers against Louis’ hip.

  
“Ni” Louis breathed out, groin tightening, mouth dropping open. Niall kissed Lou’s neck, springing away from the boy when Zayn’s voice reached their ears.

 

“Come on, boys! Hurry it up. We’re all ready to go out here.”

 

Niall cocked his head looking at Lou.

 

“Guess these…” Niall looked at his own groin and then over to Lou’s, “will just hafta wait.”

 

“Ugh, I hate Zayn.” Louis groaned, palming himself quickly, trying to relieve some of the pressure.

 

“God, Lou. You look so hot right now. You’ve gotta stop that.” Niall said breathily. Lou looked over at Niall, biting his lip again and continuing to palm himself through his pants.

 

“Oh, Niall.” Louis moaned.

 

“Shit, Lou.” Niall groaned, starting to palm himself along with Louis. All of a sudden Louis stopped, coming to kiss Niall on the cheek before going to the bathroom.

 

“Don’t got time, Niall!” Louis threw over his shoulder before he closed the bathroom door.

 

“Cheeky twat…what a tease.” Niall whispered under his breath, trying to think of unpleasant things to make his stiffy go down. All he could think of was Lou in the shower. Soapsuds all over his body and…the bathroom door opened again and Louis came out in just a towel. Niall had obviously been thinkin’ a lot longer than it felt.

 

“Want some help with that?” Lou’s teasing voice said.

 

“Twat. I need to take a cold shower because of you.” Niall said, pulling at the pants he was wearing as he walked stiffly to the bathroom. He heard Lou chuckle as he closed the door.

 

“Oh, what am I gonna do with that boy.”

 

They were at the arena where they’d be playing their show tonight. Louis had walked to find a bathroom, but knew he should’ve asked someone to go with him because the hallway he was in was dark, except for one flickering bulb at the end of the hall. Being with Niall, both last night and this morning, had made him forget about the movie they had watched the previous night. But now, walking alone in a creepy hallway, the memories of the horror film came rushing back to him.

 

“It’s nothing, Lou, just suck it up. You’re just hearing things.” Louis whispered to himself. He jumped, turning around to face the way he came when he heard a door slam. His heart was racing and he was starting to sweat. He turned back around, walking faster toward the bathroom door. Hearing creating sounds behind him, he whimpered, praying that he wasn’t going to die tonight. Reaching the door, he stretched out a hand, about to pull at the door handle when a hand clasped him on the shoulder. Louis screamed loudly, closing his eyes tightly. Whoever this monster was, he didn’t want to see their face as they killed him. He felt himself being swirled around and his shoulders were pulled on, a warm body being pressed against him.

 

“Geez, Lou. You okay?” Louis’ eyes flashed open at the sound of Niall’s voice. Louis tightened his arms around Niall’s body, pressing his face into his shoulder. Louis didn’t even realize he had bee crying until Niall started cooing in his ear. “Shh. It’s okay. Everything’s all right. I’m here, Louis.”

 

Louis calmed down after a few more minutes. He pulled away, wiping his face using his shirt.

 

“M’Sorry. God, I’m a baby,” Louis whispered, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Niall’s thumb ran over his pink cheek.

 

“How’re you so gorgeous? How the hell did I resist you for so long?” Niall said.

 

“M’not. Not gorgeous. Just…a wimp.” Louis replied.

 

“No ya aren’t. And even if you were, you’d be my wimp. I’ll protect you from everything you’re scared of.” Niall said, making Lou’s heart flutter.

 

“I…I thought the girl from the movie was here to kill me. I didn’t…I was scared, Ni.”

 

“Lou. I didn’t realize the movie got to ya that much. Maybe we should get out of this creepy hallway. Come on.” Niall said, wrapping Lou’s hand in his own and pulling.

 

“Ni. I kind of…came down here for a reason.” Lou bit his lip, looking over his shoulder at the bathroom door. Niall chuckled.

 

“Ya go to the loo, I’ll wait for ya.” Louis nodded, moving toward the door once again. He stepped inside cautiously, did his business and stepped back outside. Niall pushed away from the wall he was leaning against when he saw Louis appear again. Niall reached his hand out to Louis, who took it before he was pulled down the hall once again.

 

 

They had been hanging around the dressing room with all of the boys, Lux playing on Louis’ lap for the past 30 minutes. Niall couldn’t get over how cute Louis was with Lux. It was making Niall extremely happy to see Lou so carefree and laughing so adorably with the little girl. It made Niall fall even more in love with him than he already was. When Harry came to take Lux away to play with him instead, Niall started toward Lou. He sat in the chair next to him, itching to hold his hand or press his lips against the other man’s. Just as he began to tell Lou how adorable he was with Lux, their stylist comes over to fix Louis up for the show. The words die on Niall’s tongue, not being able to speak the words he wants with other people surrounding them. As Lou’s getting “made-up”, Niall tries not to stare, so he turns his body and face toward the mirror. A moment passes before Niall sees movement in the mirror and moves his eyes to lock onto Louis. Lou’s staring right back, a shy smile on his face.

 

The concert seems to last forever. Niall’s standing close to Louis every chance he gets and he notices Louis doing the same thing. That makes Niall even more anxious, just wanting to be in the hotel they were staying in for the night.

 

The concert finally ended and then they were off to their quick signing, since the main meet & greet was a couple hours before the concert.

 

As they were getting on the bus to head to the hotel, Louis saw something frightening against the window. He screamed, grabbing Niall’s hand that was a few feet ahead of him. He curled into Niall’s body immediately, whimpering quietly. Niall whispered soothing words to him, rubbing circles into his hand with his thumb. Niall looked past Louis’ head, seeing all the boys staring at them. Partial looks of confusion and partial looks of approval.

 

“Lou, I think we have some explaining to do.” Niall whispered in his ear. Lou looked up with wide, red eyes before turning to see the other band members looking at them. This isn’t all that strange, for Lou to cling to someone, but it had always been Harry. To be clinging to Niall called for some questions to be asked.

 

“Umm.” Lou turned around, still holding on to Niall’s hand.

 

“What’s going on boo bear?” Harry asked.

 

“Well, Ni and I…um, I don’t really know what we are…” Louis said, looking back to Niall’s shining blue eyes.

 

“Lou and I are starting a relationship,” Niall said, looking to see Lou’s eyes sparkling back at him. “It’s very new, but…I love him.”

 

“And I love Niall, too.” Loud said smiling.

 

“When did this start?” Liam asked.

 

“Um, technically…this morning?” Lou laughed at Niall’s tone. They smiled at each other then, knowing that they’ve both felt this way for a while even if they hadn’t talked about that yet.

  
The boys went around to congratulate them. They laughed a little when they found out the scary movie was what brought the two of them together, but they boys were happy. At least something brought them together. Something made them see that they shouldn’t have felt afraid to share their true feelings.

 

The End.


End file.
